


Beyond The Gate ((Nagito X Reader One Shot))

by Anuyushi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-28
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2020-09-28 06:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20421707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anuyushi/pseuds/Anuyushi
Summary: All my life has led up to entering Hope's Peak, but I failed. And now I only stand there. Beyond the gate... Watching the life I could have had if I was good at... Anything at all.♚[© 2018 | @Anuyushi]♛





	Beyond The Gate ((Nagito X Reader One Shot))

It's felt like an eternity since I began to stand beyond the iron gates. Compared to me, they were as tall as a giant, looming above and blocked me from the success I had strived for. They felt like ice when I touched them, stopping me from even coming close. But there I stood, day after day, week after week, for years watching what was happening on the other side.   
It was usually quiet and lonely, that's how it always had been, simply because I failed to enter. I was never exceptional at anything or good at something in particular. I wasn't even good enough to win the lottery, my only other chance to get in.   
This... Was a very special place because if I had gotten into the school, and I had graduated, I would have been set for life. It was a shame I was just a failure though. I was someone you would look at and never remember my face; plain old me, so ordinary.   
Small flakes began to shower from above. Silent, bitter cold, they stuck to the ground and started to pile up slowly, but I still refused to move. Despite being cold, I couldn't bring myself to go home yet. Why did I stand here? I never intended to break in or get someone to open them for me. Just standing here was fine with me, but why did I do it in the first place? I breathed heavily with a shiver, sending out a frosty breath of fog. How cold had it gotten? It was winter, but the snow wasn't expected for at least another two weeks. I was about to back away from the gates when I heard a strange noise from the other side. I froze, listening as quietly as I could. It almost sounded like a small crash. This was a school, so no doubt it would be noisy but it was class time, and the sound came from outside. It simply piqued curiosity. Scanning the yard, I finally saw the source, matching a face to the sound. A strange boy exiting from the side of the school, shivering just as bad as I. He rubbed his hands together and breathed into them to warm up. I couldn't stop looking at his strange appearance. Wavey white hair that almost seemed unnaturally messy, and a long green coat, waving out from behind. Even with that coat, he was probably still cold. I had decided to wear a thick jacket today and even I was still a little chilly. The boy sighed, revealing his own frosty breath in the air. On the other side of the gates... It was a special student. Someone who had managed to get into the school. Someone who succeeded. A mix of emotions hit me all at once. Jealousy, admiration, wonder, my heart twisted in my chest and stopped for a second when he turned his bright eyes in my direction.   
It was obvious I had been caught staring, but I only stared back.   
For years, I had stood beyond the gates to the academy and left when the bell tolled the end of the day, but it wasn't the end yet, and his young appearance told me he obviously wasn't a teacher, so what was he doing outside? I could see a light smile crawl over his lips and the strange boy began to make his way in my direction. I started to panic a little but I managed to release a sigh and ready myself for conversation. As he came up the gates, the boy reached his bony hands out, gripping the freezing gates. I was taken a bit by surprise, seeing him not have a reaction at all. "Are you a stalker?" The boy questioned simply. I was a bit offended by the sudden question but actually started to think about it for a second. What was I doing?! "Of course I'm not!" I replied in annoyance. "Are you a ditcher?" I decided to retort, examining his clothes. The school had a certain dress code and his relaxed clothes were not it. Under his coat looked like a casual white t-shirt. My jealousy only grew. Someone like him got into such an amazing school and he couldn't even be bothered to dress right or go to class. If I could, I'd trade placed in a heartbeat. "Nah." He tilt his head innocently. The boy blinked slowly, his eyes revealing he had spaced off. Mind elsewhere, I waved my hand in front of his face to snap him back to reality. "So what are you doing outside then?" I'm sure my voice dripped with hostility but either the stranger didn't pick up on it, or didn't care.   
"I just needed a break. I didn't expect it to snow though. How unlucky." After he muttered out in a silky soft voice, he laughed awkwardly. The conversation paused and he lowered his eyes to look at the ground. "You're in the main course?" I decided to ask, reviving the conversation. A strange look melted onto the boy's face that didn't appear good. "Yeah. I-I think." He pulled his hands off the gate bars and brought them to his face to warm up once more.   
Think? "What do you mean "think'?"   
Instead of answering, he rubbed his hands together, red from the cold nipping at his skin.   
I couldn't hold back a sigh and reached my arms through the bars for the first time. It felt a bit exciting to cross the bars but I tried to compose myself. The boy seemed confused but I gave him a reassuring nod. "Here, let me help." I tried to sound soothing, but it didn't seem like I was trusted. It's not like I wanted to help someone who didn't take such a great place seriously, but I wasn't going to sit back and watch him freeze. Even in summer, the iron bars would be freezing. It was his own fault for grabbing it but still...  
Why did I want to help anyway? It was probably because he was a student at the academy. That's all.   
The boy reluctantly set his hands over mine and I quickly wrapped my fingers around them to share my warmth.   
"My mom told me a long time ago that sharing warmth with another human is better than any heater." I started to explain, thinking back. My mother was a sweet woman, but I didn't see much of her anymore. She was the one that got me into attending this school and pretty much disowned me when I failed to gain entrée. But she was so kind when I was little. A small look of surprise flashed across his eyes as he looked down at his hands, and back up to me. "Who are you?" His voice came out in a near whisper. I chuckled before answering, even though I didn't think the question was all that funny. "I'm just a fan of the school. Who are you?" I was just a plain nobody, but I couldn't say that.  
"My name isn't all that important." His surprise changed to a light smile and he suddenly pulled his hands away. "Um, I'm fine now. I think I'm going to go now."  
I gave a nod goodbye, but he didn't move. What was with this strange behavior? I couldn't get my head around it. It really wasn't a student's attitude I expected to find at a place like this. He seemed a little... Off. I tried to ignore it though. When he still stood in the same spot, I cleared my throat, pulling my arms back to my side. "Goodbye. Maybe we can see each other again."  
The stranger blinked, then pulled his jacket sleeve up. "It's around noon." He checked a watch to announce the time. "Can we meet here tomorrow at the same time?"  
Tomorrow? I'd be here tomorrow anyway so... "Of course!" I forced a smile. As I watched the stranger hurry away, I couldn't help a groan and slapped my palm to my forehead. What the hell was that?   
I pulled my hood over my head and backed away from the gates. The snow already seemed to come down harder, like stars falling from the sky. Clouds covered most of the bright blue, with only a piece of the sun sticking out for light. Now that the winter season was coming, I would have to go home earlier to avoid freezing to death standing in the snow. It wasn't ideal but I would have to deal with it until spring. The walk home felt almost eternal, dragging my feet across the ground. I seemed to focus only on the sound of scraping when a loud chime echoed the streets. It was well known already and I stopped in my tracks, turning around to face the school, now far off. Even in the distance, the bell could be heard for miles.   
The school must be letting out now, but I wasn't there to see the gates flood out. Before I continued on, I let myself stop for a moment and take a heavy breath in, then out. I clenched my fists, still slightly chilly from... 

Holding his hands. They had been freezing, and I gave my warmth. A stranger with a curious emotion behind his eyes, whose mind seemed to wander off in a land only he knew. The more I thought about it, the more curious I felt. Just who was he? It still felt like I was holding his hands, that lingering feeling refusing to go away. 

I opened my hands and closed them once more before crossing my arms and continuing down the sidewalk like that until I finally got home. 

Pushing open the door, I slammed it behind me and leaned against the slab. My whole body ached, from not only standing there for hours but hurrying home in the cold as well. I was used to this pain after doing it for so long though. After taking a moment to catch my breath, I staggered to my bed and collapsed. Despite being physically tired, I couldn't fall asleep right away. Everything became more apparent like it did every night. I was wasting my life now, alone in a house I lived in off of my mother's dollar, and she didn't even speak to me anymore. The place was a dump and smelled of chlorine, it didn't even have a bedroom. But this... This was home. It was fine though. 

As I started to slip into sleep, my body relaxed and before I realized it, I felt warm. 

I didn't want to get up right away, but I didn't have much of a choice. My body groaned in protest as I struggled to sit up and look out the window where the sun was peeking through the glass. It was... White. Everything was white and covered in snow. The sight was beautiful for being in an alleyway, pure untouched snow covering the mounds of garbage. I chucked to myself and hopped out of the bed. I felt... Hopeful for the day. 

Once I tidied myself up, I rushed out the door as fast as I could to Hope's Peak. When I arrived, I was met with something... New. I was early. 

The gates spread wide as students walked into the school. It would be so easy to just... I felt my hand reaching for my dream, but something stopped me. A tight grip on my wrist made me blink back to reality and I was standing before the same student I met before, staring at me with confused eyes before changing it to a childish smile. 

The first thing I noticed was his uniform, completely different than yesterday. The brown matched the color of dirt, but a brown suit somehow looked good on him. "S-Sorry." The boy awkwardly laughed and released my wrist. I didn't even realize how tight I was being held until my wrist felt sore and I brought my hand to myself to rub it better. "What are you doing? You weren't wearing a uniform yesterday?" I eyed him again, examining him once more. "And I don't even know your name."

"I'll explain everything if you come with me." The boy turned around towards the gates. "You don't have to, I understand if you don't want to be around such a-"

"In there?" I found myself interrupting. "Past the gates?" My heart started to beat quicker with excitement and fear. The stranger chuckled awkwardly in response, brushing his wild hair with his fingers. "Is it a problem?"

"No." Everything around me started to become clouded as all I could think about was crossing those gates. "It's been... My dream to go inside." 

I could see the boy look a bit surprised but he smiled, tilting his head. "Well let's go then. I have something to show you."

I could feel my hand grabbed as I was being pulled but I couldn't care. As my body passed the gates with the other students, everything began to speed up around me. This was my dream to enter Hope's Peak. A totally normal, talentless person with no money or skills to enter some place to great, I suddenly had to stop when I felt something wet on my face. I sniffed, wiping a tear from my eye. "Thank you so much." The words came out of my mouth and before I could stop myself, I was hugging the stranger as tight as I could. I felt his body tense up, and his hair tickled my face but he didn't pull away. "You're so hopeful..." I heard him mutter, turning his head away from me. Once I realized what I was doing, I hurried to release the boy. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I bowed my head quickly. What was I doing just now? I must have made him uncomfortable. The boy no longer looked at me, and when I tilt my head to see his face, I noticed it has gone a soft shade of pink. "Um, sure." The boy cleared his throat and looked back up, once again calm. "I should tell you my name now, right? It's Nagito, Ultimate Lucky Student." He smiled, almost forcefully. 

Ultimate... "I'm (y/n)." I stopped and held out my hand. "It's nice to meet you. You're actually pretty nice, so I'm sorry for not liking you at first. 

Nagito looked down to my hand, then returned to my face as he realized out and shook my hand. I thought back to how jealous I had been at first, how he had angered me right off the bat, but those feelings seem to be vanishing. I felt something else but I wasn't quite sure what it was.  
When he pulled his hand back, Nagito looked behind him. "Anyway, it's up this way." He nodded his head to keep going down the side of the school and continued to lead.   
I followed behind, but I couldn't stop looking all around me. The snow piled over the school's grass made the entire place seem like it was glittering. When I thought of the school, I felt... Hope for the future.   
"Here." Nagito suddenly stopped and I rose my head to a fire ladder. "I don't think I can reach that." I retort, seeing the folded up ladder much too far out of reach. I heard the boy release a quiet chuckle and bent down where he picked up a long pole against the school. It had blended in with the snow so well, I hadn't even noticed it. The end shone a bright hook which he raised up and caught the bottom of the ladder. With a tug, it was pulled down and he set down the pole when it was within reach. The boy brought it down to the ground and took a step back. "This goes right too the roof. Just be careful, okay?"  
"You..." I looked up to the height of it. "Want me to climb that?"  
"I'll go after." Nagito quickly interjected. "And make sure you don't fall. It's pretty sturdy, I go up all the time."  
Despite everything telling me not to, I grabbed the cold ladder and began to ascend, step by step. It wobbled slightly when Nagito started up as well. I decided not to look down. It seemed like it would go on forever, or break and I'd plummet to death. I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "So... You haven't told me yet. Why did you change out of your uniform yesterday?"  
"I needed a break." The reply came from below. "I don't really belong here so once in a while, I need to get away from everyone else and feel... Like I usually did before this."

What could I reply to that? "You... You belong here for sure." I muttered with hesitation. "What do you usually feel?" Normally, I'd be meeting someone's eyes and trying to be a good listener but my eyes remained glued to climbing the ladder. I could see the roof in sight, just a bit more... 

"That's not true. I'm not good at anything. I'm lucky, that's all. It's not even a talent but..."

"I think it's unique." Chuckling, I sighed after, seeing my breath in the frost. Nagito didn't answer me after that and when I got to the roof, I collapsed. I had to just take a minute to calm my nerves and relax after that but Nagito didn't stop. He crawled up after and began towards the center of the roof. Watching him, I stayed on the ground, feeling the snow melt into my clothes as he picked up a box covered by a thick looking blanket. I saw a bright smile spread across his face as he set the box beside me. "Someone left it outside the school a couple nights ago. I've been protecting it up here."   
I was curious, but also a little afraid at the same time. Protecting what? I pushed myself to sit up, looking out to the city first. It was beautiful from the top of the school. I never in my life thought I'd be seeing the whole city from the top of such a place. It was beautiful, I couldn't peel my eyes away, but I was finally snapped out of it when I heard a small noise from the box and turned back. Nagito seemed to have been waiting for me to finish and when I turned back, he slowly pulled the blanket off the box. I leaned over, seeing what's inside.   
It wasn't at all what I had expected.   
Crystal blue eyes met mine and with a flick of an ear, the animal sat up.  
"Isn't she pretty?" Nagito leaned into the box to pull the kitten out and held her close. "I thought someone abandoned her by the gate so I brought her up here to stay. The vent is on almost every day though so she's fine here."  
When I went to pet her, the kitten's head felt like a cloud, and her fluffy body looked fairly healthy. He must have been taking good care of her.   
"I'm a little worried though." Nagito continued to speak. "It's getting colder and I don't know what to do with her." He sighed softly. "I can't take care of a living thing like this for very long. So..."  
"You want me to take care of it." I finished for him and shook my head. I wanted too, I really did but... "I'm sorry. I barely have enough to survive on my own." I had to look down, too ashamed to even face him as I confessed. "I might lose my house any time too if my mom decides to stop giving me loans."  
There was no reply, and I could feel the silence overlapping the situation. It began to feel colder, perhaps because I was focusing on the snow now that it was quiet. I don't know how much time had passed before I heard a small chuckle and looked back up. Nagito wrapped his shirt around the kitten a bit, warming it up. "That's it? You just need money?" His eyes had a strange, far off look; as though his entire personality changed in a second. "Perhaps we can make a deal." Just then, he held the kitten towards me. "I'm pretty rich. You can live at my house and care for it there."  
What?  
"You can't be serious." I flicked my eyes to the small animal. "You'd just let me live there if I care for it? There has to be a catch. Do I need to pay rent? Dress like a servant? There's no way-"  
"No catch." Nagito beamed happily. I felt a bit suspicious and hesitant, but I felt his smile was sincere if a bit crooked. I let myself release a frosty sigh and accepted the kitten into my arms. "She is... A bit cute." Murmuring out, I gently scratched under its chin and felt the small creature begin to purr in my arms. "Alright. I'll do it. It's a win-win for both of us, right?"  
Instead of answering, the boy nodded. I couldn't help but lean forward and press my lips against his forehead. Lingering there a second longer, I pulled myself up. "Thank you. I'll wait outside for the school day to end. Beyond the gate, just like before."


End file.
